Jimmy's Ordeal
by Yoshermon
Summary: A sudden disaster and the loss of Sarah send Jimmy on a strange journey.
1. Having A Brunch Today

This fic is based loosely off of an episode of Futurama, however it is not a crossover.  


* * *

I never thought something like this would happen to someone like me. It all happened so fast, yet it seemed like it lasted an eternity. Oh, pardon me, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Jimmy.  
Anyway, it happened quite a while ago, and so much happened it's hard to describe it all. But I guess I'll just start from the beginning, like all my bedtime stories do.

I woke up groggily that morning. It was a wonderful day out; the sun was shining a bright, warm glow, there were big poofy clouds dotted across the sky that looked like they could start raining cotton candy any second, and everyone was outside playing on the cul-de-sac, including Sarah. As I saw here I jumped out of bed, forgetting my previous groggyness, and got dressed as fast as I could. There was no need to eat breakfast, for Sarah and I were going to have a lovely brunch with Mister Yum-Yum and all his friends. I ran outside only to get smacked at 30 miles-per-hour by an airborne Eddy. Eddy, by the way, was a short scoundrel who always tried to scam us kids out of our money. Nobody likes him except his weird friends, Ed and Double-D. We flew into a nearby mailbox and I felt my recently-healed owies opening back up again. I can never find out why misfortune and woe happen to me. I don't remember a time where I haven't worn a cast or a bandage somewhere on my body in my entire life! But suddenly I felt Eddy's weight lift off of me.  
"Eddy you idiot! Look what you did to poor Jimmy!" shouted Sarah as she held him up by his collar.  
"Hey, it's not my fault he got in the way when Shovel-Chin over there punched me!" he replied. Sarah threw him into Kevin, the neighborhood bully, and knocked him off of his treasured bike.  
The next scene was pure horror; Kevin and Eddy started fighting and Eddy dragged Sarah into it. I cried and shouted for the fighting to stop but like always everyone ignored me. Thankfully Rolf, the strange lad from another country who has a farm in his backyard, came and broke up the fight. I can't remember exactly what he said except telling them to stop and relating it to some strange thing about his old country.  
"Come on Jimmy, let's go." Sarah said nonchalantly as she brushed the debris off of her clothes. I followed her closely as we headed to our secret place.

Our secret place was beautiful. It was near the edge of the woods, on the top of a cliff that overshadowed all of Peach Creek. It was quite a hike, but Sarah was nice enough to carry me up the more treacherous parts of the mountain. Soon we reached the top of the cliff, with the million dollar view of the world below in front of us. A single wooden picknick table stood in a flat, circular area of grass that halfway stretched beyond the normally straight edge of the cliff. It was our secret area that no one else came to or even knew about (Sarah had Ed take the table up there but the big lug forgot about it the day afterward). No one really ever took notice to the cliff; it was so high up that it looked as if the sky covered it up with a light shade of blue and no one even knew there was a passage up there from the forest. Sarah and I started going up there after we originally found it because not even the Eds could bother us there. I was of course afraid of the possibility of falling down a few thousand feet above the cul-de-sac, but as long as Sarah was with me I would follow her to the end of the Earth.  
She was especially beautiful today; her soft, red hair fell down beyond her ears like a waterfall, her eyes shimmered in the daylight and her skin seemed so radiant it was as if it was powering the sun from afar. I never told anyone--not even Mister Yum-Yum--that I was in love with her. I was always a wimp of a boy who didn't have the strength to stand up for himself or the smarts to outwit anyone (that was Double-D's department) and I am cursed with being horribly accident-prone and nobody likes being around me. Except Sarah, that is. She looks past all of my faults and weaknesses and she stays with me through thick and thin, and I love her.  
But I could never gather the strength to tell her that.


	2. The Disaster

"Isn't it a wonderful day, Mister Yum-Yum?" I said as I took a sip of my tea. It was actually hot chocolate but Sarah and I like to pretend it's tea because it's elegant. He said "yes" and I smiled at him.  
"Isn't this nice Jimmy?" Sarah said. I nodded and smiled at her and took another sip of tea. It was an amazing brunch; we packed scrambled eggs, hot-dogs and my world-famous quiche (we tried to pack some toast and butter but Ed somehow sneaked it away from us). We ate and talked and I was having the time of my life. I had to tell Sarah. I just had to tell her how much I loved her, how she was my only friend in a world of bullies and how beautiful she is. My father was a jeweler and I've given up all of my allowance money for three years (Sarah would lend me whatever money I wasted on one of the Ed's scams) for him to let me have a gold ring. Sarah absolutely loved jewelry and it was the perfect way to confess my love for her. I had hid it under Mister Yum-Yum, waiting for its new owner. It was the perfect place too; on top of the world, a mile high above everything with the only thing higher up than us being Mr. Sun. Our secret place was such a wonderful spot. Unfortunately, it was the worst possible place for what happened next.  
_"This is it"_ I thought. This was when I was going to confess my love for Sarah that I've kept secret ever since I laid my eyes on her. I'll sweep her off her feet with a golden ring and we'll live happily ever after. But as I opened my mouth, I felt a small bump. And then another one. I looked down at my tea and saw the liquid swishing around in the cup a little. Then a little more. A sudden wave a fear washed over me as the bumps became more frequent and more violent. They soon merged into a rumble that knocked over the cups and vibrated them off of the table.  
"Earthquake!!" shouted Sarah as she grabbed my hand and pulled me away from our secret place. As we ran, I remembered the gold ring and I shrieked and teared my hand away from hers. As I ran back for the ring I felt my stomach jump into my mouth as the ground under me gave away.  
The next thing I remembered was pain. More pain than I'd ever felt in my life, coursing through my body as if it was conducting electricity. My vision went black for a moment and a few moments of my life flashed before my eyes. My vision slowly started to come back as I tried to regain consciousness. I had landed on a sturdy ledge a ways down the cliff as the violent rumbling continued. Sarah quickly climbed down the cliff to the ledge I was on.  
"...Jimmy?.....Jimmy! Hang in there!" she screamed as she tried to help me up. Everything felt like a dream (a _painful _dream, mind you) and my mind wasn't really comprehending what was going on. A loose rock fell from the cliffside and struck Sarah square in the head. I shrieked as she tumbled towards the end of the ledge, a mile above Earth. Despite pain I jumped and quickly grabbed her hands before she fell off. To my horror though, her weight was pulling me towards the edge and I couldn't find anything to support myself with. Between the rumbling and the pain and Sarah's screams my mind couldn't formulate words. Only fear and horror went through my head as I was being pulled to my doom by the one I loved. I can't explain why I could ever do something like it to the one I loved, but the next thing I did would haunt me for the rest of my life.

I let go.

Tears fell down my cheeks in waves as I watched the one person who had ever dared to call me friend fall to her doom. I don't know how I did it--it might've been my survival instinct kicking in--but I quickly climbed back up the cliffside and ran into the forest. The rumbling started getting quieter and softer as I staggered through the remains of the woods. Trees were toppled and small animals were caught in the wreckage, crying and squealing for help. I paid no heed to them as I mindlessly limped along what remained of the path. A small trail of blood marked where I had been as I slowly made my way to the cul-de-sac, sheer adrenaline being the only thing powering my legs. The pain was throbbing all throughout my body--the fact that my retainer was ripped off in the catastrophe didn't help much--and my head felt like it was going to burst. All I could think about were Sarah's screams of terror echoing in my mind. The fact that she was actually gone didn't register until I got to the cul-de-sac.


	3. The Hospital

The cul-de-sac hasn't been this bad since the Kanker's riot.  
That was the first actual thought that was able to form in my head since the earthquake started. I looked in horror at the collapsed houses and torn pavement of the once-peaceful cul-de-sac. Doors were hanging on their hinges, broken windows hung daggers of sharp glass, and every tree in sight was overturned or broken in half. There was rubble everywhere; splinters of wood all around the houses (or what was left of them), chunks of adobe ranging in size from microscopic to as big as a jawbreaker were everywhere. A sudden aftershock knocked me down but went away quickly. My vision was somewhat blurry but I could make out where everyone's house was (or was supposed to be).  
Tears started to pool in my eyes as I looked at the remainder of my house. It was covered in charred wood and ash, apparently from a fire caused by the fallen power line. My room had been violently relocated to ground level and was half covered in broken wall and wooden beams. Barely any of my father's jewelry collection had made it--most of it had been melted or ruined by the fire--and what was left was still scorching hot, an intimidating red glow surrounding the precious metals and stones. The pool of tears in my eyes started to overflow as I picked up the remains of one of my dollies. It was a teddy bear that Sarah had given me for my birthday last year. My eyes widened and the trickle of tears down my face turned into a stream as the memory of what had happened just a few eternities ago slammed into me and knocked me unconscious.

_"Aw man, he's a goner, just like Double-D."  
"Don't say that, Kevin! He's gonna be alright."  
"Does anyone know what happened to Sarah?"  
"Baby Sister..."_  
"Ssh, he's waking up."  
I opened my eyes and winced at the sudden pain in my cheek. The ashes of my house that I fell on were still very hot, so the burn on the side of my face was a lovely addition to the steadily expanding boulder inside my brain and the constant taste of blood in my mouth and the wasps that were stinging the back of my head constantly.  
"He's alive!!" I heard a familiar voice shout. It took both Kevin and Rolf a lot of effort (apparently) to keep Ed from giving me a bone-shattering hug. I looked around (painfully) at the hospital room I was in. Standing around me were the other kids of the cul-de-sac. They looked like they had a rough time during the earthquake too; Kevin's entire right arm was covered in bandages, Eddy's flat head (as well as each of his three individual hairs) was wrapped in bandages and he had a cast on his left leg. I was glad that everyone was alive, except...  
"Where's Double-D?" I asked. My voice was garbled and strange-sounding--my retainer took out a few teeth down with it--but I'm pretty sure they knew what I said. Everyone's face was washed with nervousness as they averted their eyes from me and (aside from the occasional grunt or cough) didn't talk. It was about two minutes before Nazz finally got the courage to speak.  
"Double-D......Uh......." was all Nazz could say before I asked where Johnny--who was also missing from the semi-circle of kids around my hospital bed--was.  
"Johnny-the-wood-boy is in the other room." Rolf quickly replied, apparently relieved at the change in subject away from Double-D.  
"You should've seen him Jimmy! His whole left arm was tor-" Ed was elbowed hard in the stomach by Eddy before he could finish. Unfortunately, I got the memo.  
"Anyway, we're just happy you're okay dude." Nazz said to finish the conversation. Everyone walked (err, limped) out and I was left alone. All alone. The memory of Sarah's death was branded--permanently, I used to think--into my mind, adding more the the migraine that was already threatening to break my skull in half.

That night was not very fun. They say that if someone is tired enough, they'll fall asleep despite any pain or noise. That was not the case with me. My newlygained insomnia was not welcome in my permanently troubled being. Every time I tried to close my eyes the vision of Sarah falling off of the cliff was set in high-definition and ignoring it was impossible. The pain didn't help much either; no matter how much medicine or pain killers the nurses gave me (which wasn't very much anyway) nothing would dampen the holocaust inside my nerves. It wasn't until three days later that I finally got a wink of sleep, but when I did pass out from exhaustion I would just dream of Sarah's death. After a few more days the dreams got a little diverse. Instead of me letting her fall off of a cliff, they sometimes showed me pulling a lever to drop her into a volcano or the guillotine slowly cutting her in half. The ability to form words in your head became a challenge for me. Occasionally someone would sit by my bed and talk to me, but anything they said never really got through to me. I'd just nod my head or mumble a little and whoever was talking would eventually get up and leave. Eating was just as hard as sleeping; the tubes stuck through my nose gave me nutrients but when I tried to eat food through my mouth my body would just violently cough it up.  
After another week or two, I was finally rested enough to get out of bed. A lot of my wounds had healed (in truth I am a fast healer but with me being accident-prone and all...) and I had my teeth replaced with artificial ones (although I could still taste blood occasionally). The pain was just as strong as ever, and while I never really learned to ignore it I forced myself to cope with it.  
I was wheeled down to the food court, along with the other survivors from The Earthquake Of The Century.


	4. Voices

Even though it was weeks ago, the news about the World's Largest Earthquake was still buzzing as if it had happened yesterday. The earthquake that struck the cul-de-sac and ended the life of Sarah before my eyes was recorded with a magnitude of 12.4, which a nurse told me was very, _very_ big. It destroyed nearly every building in the Peach Creek area but it left the hospital--which was built in a special location and strong enough to withstand violent tremors--roughly unscathed. The building where most of our parents worked as well as the Jawbreaker Factory were ruined in the disaster, and the aftershocks caused more buildings to topple around them. Losing our parents was devestating but none of us ever really talked or did stuff with them. Even so, everyone missed their moms and dads and for the first few nights there was a lot of crying on the upper floor. The staff was amazed at how many kids survived the earthquake--apparently Rolf's giant clam served as a shield against the debris and collapsing buildings and he saved as many kids as he could. Except Johnny and Edd, that is.

I wheeled myself over to the food court where the kids and a few other refugees were eating lunch. It was my first time out of the hospital room and I noticed as I came into the sunlight pouring through the windows that I became awfully pale. The kids said their hellos and "hey Jimmy"s and whatnot and I sat down next to Nazz. I can't remember exactly what I ate, but I know that whatever I did eat didn't make me any less painfully hungry.  
I looked around and nearly lost my lunch at the sight of Johnny's left arm--or what was left of it. The only thing coming out of the sleeve of his hospital gown was a short nub with a stock-car pileup of skin on the end of it. I noticed Plank, who had quite a few chunks missing and part of his bottom-right corner scorched, "sitting" on the chair next to Johnny.  
"Oh, I'm sorry Jimmy." Johnny said as he noticed my face turning green. He reached over with his right arm and turned Plank around on the chair.  
"I know Plank looks pretty sick but you're okay, aren't ya buddy?" he said, oblivious to what really was making me ill. I looked around, having forgotten the conversation held at my awakening at the hospital, and asked again where Double-D was. Once again, the kids got a surprised face followed by an unseen force keeping them from looking directly at me. I glanced over at Ed and noticed tears forming in his eyes. Even the Kanker Sisters--who weren't present at my initiation to the hospital--started sniffling a bit, even the blue-haired one. Mary, or something like that. I looked at Kevin, who's newfound shyness started turning into frustration by the look of his face.  
"DOULBE-D IS DEAD!" he shouted out, his face red and his eyes glistening with moisture. He broke down and started crying into his arms. Ed and Mary lost it too, and they started to cry as well. I was stricken by this by the same feeling I experienced when I lost Sarah, only this wasn't nearly as bad. But it was still horrible, like falling off of your bed in your sleep and you have a sick feeling of pain and confusion all at the same time. I waited patiently while Kevin and the others let off steam, and soon they calmed down to the point where they could talk again. Nazz, noticing the seriousness in the air, decided to reiterate another tragedy that happened in my already-ruined life.  
"Jimmy....I think you should know.....but Sarah--"  
"Nazz!!" Kevin interrupted.  
"It's okay guys, I know." I said quietly. I had had enough depressing news and akward silences for one day, so I retired to my oh too familar hospital room. On my way out, through, the voice I heard haunts me even to this day.  
_"You killed my little sister."_  
My eyes widened and a jolt of fear shot up my spine. I had never heard Ed say something in such a sinister tone but when I did a James-Bond 180 in my wheelchair I only saw Ed with his attention focused on the rest of the kids, who didn't seem hear him. He saw me looking at him and waved at me with his familar goofy grin. I waved back--nervously--and shrugged the whole thing off as a halucination.

That night was one of the worst I had in the hospital. Normally I would just pass out from exhaustion because the pain wouldn't let my sleep by normal means, but the halucination of Ed's threatening voice had a lot of friends. All around me I heard voices; sinister, dark, reminding me over and over that I killed her. I killed Sarah, I killed Sarah, I killed Sarah. I didn't just hear the voices, I felt them swirling around my head and making my headache to the point of exploding. Around my bed I would see things. Dark things with no describable shape looming over me and staring at me with eyeless vision. I felt my head swell to the size of a planet as the pain grew and forced it outwards. The voices started getting louder and louder and I felt me eardrums breaking inside my ever-growing skull. I screamed and shouted for it all to stop and the last thing I remember was a sharp pain in my arm and then darkness.


	5. Still Alive

Dang Jimmy, you gave us a real scare there dude!" Nazz said, the other kids nodding their head in agreement.  
"What happened?" I asked, not entirely remembering the horrible night.  
"You were all screaming and yelling and stuff and the nurses had to inject you with some meds just to get you to calm down!" Eddy remarked. I simply looked at the kids and closed my eyes. The sharp, stinging pain in the back of my head and the feeling of broken bones was as strong as ever, and I had formed an unusual habit of trying to pinpoint exactly which bone was aching when I was bored.  
"I think you need some fresh air, dude. The nurses said you should be well enough to walk outside of the hospital for a bit." Nazz said sweetly as she help me get out of bed. I felt wobbly standing on two feet for the first time in a month, but I retaught myself to walk as the girl led me out of the hospital. Normally I would greet the sunlight and fresh air with open arms, but the light only hurt my eyes and the wind made me feel like paper as we took our first steps out of the front doors. I looked around for a bit. The hospital was build on top of a small hill and I could see the ruins of the cul-de-sac from it. Behind them, covered in a shroud of light blue, was our--my, that is, secret place on top of the mountain. A large chunk of it had fallen off but I could still see it towering above the world, invisible to the people too ignorant to look. The memory of Sarah's death started burning me up from the inside and I quickly went back inside the hospital, Nazz following along. That night Kevin decided to stay in my room in case I had another episode. For some reason, my hospital bed felt softer than it ever did before. I soon closed my eyes and for once I had gone to sleep without medication or sheer exhaustion.

"Jimmy? Can you hear me?" I heard a familiar voice say to me in a soft tone. I felt my heart leap into my mouth--pleasantly, that is--as I heard the sweet voice of Sarah. I found myself floating in a sea of stars, with the one I loved floating with me.  
"Oh Sarah, you wouldn't imagine what I've been through without you there with me," I said weakly. The memories of her death and the pain that I felt had all but vanished as the overwhelming happiness of seeing her again took me over.  
"I brought you something. I hope you like it." she said as she reached out behind her back. She took out a doll and set it in my hands. I looked at it and realized it was one of her special dolls that she kept in a safe place, only playing with them at our secret place in fear that someone might ruin them.  
"It's my favorite doll, but you can have it." Her voice was soothing and calming, and I clutched the treasured item in a gentle embrace.  
"Thank you, Sarah," I said. I felt something soft touch my cheeks. I felt my face emanate a bright red glow visible for miles as she kissed me gently. I couldn't find words to describe how it felt. I turned to her to return the favor, but she wasn't there. A sudden wave of pain engulfed my body as I was plunged back into my hospital bed, back into reality.  
Away from Sarah.

I woke up groggily, having to get reacquainted with the pain that never left my side until last night. I looked over to see Kevin quietly snoring on the chair in front of me, the sunlight reflecting off of his bright red cap. I sat up and was about to pull my sheets off when I felt something. I felt under my covers and my eyes widened as I pulled something out from under them.  
It was a doll. The one Sarah had given me. My eyes were as big as dinner plates (or as Kevin had told me. He'd woken up just in time to see them) as I eyed the toy in my hands.  
"Where'd you get that doll, Jimmy?" Kevin asked as he walked up to my bed. I was too dumbfounded to speak, and all I could do was shrug. Kevin returned the gesture and walked out of the room, rubbing his back and saying something to himself about a stupid chair.  
I ran down to the lunchroom (although I ignored it at the time, looking back I remember it really hurt!!) as fast as I could to tell the other kids about the whole deal. I told them about the dream, and how my pain went away and how the doll she gave me in my dream appeared in my bed when I woke up.  
"She's still alive, she has to be!" I said, excitement blotting out the pain a bit.  
"Dude, chill out. The natural disaster guys salvaged a lot of stuff from the cul-de-sac. Maybe they found one of your dolls or something and had a nurse give it to you" Nazz said.  
"But it's Sarah's favorite dollie! She had this locked up in her special metal toy box and only took it out when she was sure it was safe! It had to be her!"  
"Urban-Ranger Jimmy, even in Rolf's....how do you guys say it.....weird family, there have never been any stories of dreams appearing under people's bedsheets!" Rolf retorted. My excitement died down a little but that desperate sensation of hope still burned deep inside me.  
"What's that Plank?" Johnny asked as he held Plank--who had had his missing chunks glued back together--to his ear. I strained myself to try and focus on his head instead of the grotesque stump of a left arm. Johnny nodded and mumbled short grunts of agreement as he listened to what the silent board had to say. This went on for what felt like minutes, but everyone had their attention fixated on the boy and his board.  
"Okay, I'll tell him." he said. Johnny looked at me as if he was about to weave a tale of epic proportions. Taking a deep breath, he finally spoke.  
"Plank thinks you're crazy."  
The excitement built up in the room was instantly killed off at those words, and I felt like my pain had a will of its own and started to punish me for blocking it out for a moment.  
"Or," he said, taking a short pause to regain everyone's attention. "Plank says that Sarah is still alive somewhere. He says that when two people miss each other enough, they can talk to each other through their dreams!" Johnny said, hoping the explanation would redeem his earlier mood-killing insult. My hope rekindled and pushed back the pain once more. I couldn't contain my excitement any longer and I darted out of the hospital, my only thought is of finding Sarah once again. I stopped soon after when the question of "how the heck am I even going to find her?" kicked my brain around my skull and gave it a hearty slap. It was true; even if Sarah was alive I would have no idea where to even start looking for her. The last I saw of her was the painful memory of her falling off of a cliff, right above the cul-de-sac.  
......The cul-de-sac! It hit me right there as the most logical choice. I turned and ran towards the ruins of the place I once called home.


	6. Sarah's House

The cul-de-sac was almost worse than it was right after the earthquake.  
I stepped into the ruins for the second time since Sarah's supposed death and couldn't help but cry at the loss of my home. Unlike the last time, there weren't buildings on fire or what remained of houses threatening to topple over at any minute or power lines tangled all over the ground that could fatally shock anyone who was unfortunate enough to touch them to death, but the cul-de-sac traded those horrors for new ones. The first thing I saw was rats. Tons of them, darting around the remains of the street with amazing speed and agility. The rubble everywhere and broken water pipes seemed to be paradise for the ugly little rodents and they took no heed to the big, strange thing staring at them with eyes the size of dinner plates. I screamed and started to run back out when the memory of Sarah appeared and stopped me in my tracks. Caught between a rat infestation and the sheer desire to see Sarah alive and well, I turned around and looked for some path I could take to avoid them. Some of the houses collapsed straight down, leaving the roofs somewhat in-tact. I carefully stumbled over them, putting one foot after the other. The shingles were wobbly and it felt like the roof was gonna collapse under my own weight. Although they weren't high off the ground, I could see through the holes chipped in the shingles that the homes of the rats were right under me, and if I dropped in unexpectedly they wouldn't be very happy. That was evident when my foot fell through a weak spot and the rats started clawing and biting at it, much to my dismay. I quickly pulled my foot out and shook a persistent rat off of my leg. I quickly made my way past the roof and past the river of vermin. I found myself in the middle of the cul-de-sac, looking around at the amphitheater of rubble surrounding it. I decided to check Ed and Sarah's house first. Luckily, it was still standing somewhat. I crept inside, remembering what happened on the roof and making sure each new step was on a secure surface. The everlasting pain that surged through my body only served to keep me focused on my goal. My head throbbed and my ribs creaked and groaned under my skin but I kept searching around the house for any sign of life. Fearing what might happen if I try to move my weight upstairs in the post-apocalyptic building, I decided to go downwards to Ed's room (I have no idea what I was thinking back then).  
In truth, it wasn't as bad as the rest of the house. There was broken glass on the floor and the house collapsed slightly over the window, making it dark and hard to see. The pungent odor was as strong as ever but I put on a nose clip (I have no idea where got it) and ignored it. I figured this was where the kids took refuge during the earthquake. I picked up a fragment of seashell the size of my palm near a corner of the room untouched by the rubble. I continued my search until a horrid sight stopped me in my tracks. In one part of the room, the ceiling had collapsed and a rather large support beam slanted diagonally from the floor to the darkness above the plaster. And around the floor under the part of the beam touching the ground was a stain. A blood stain. Small scraps of red and black fabric clued me in on the details. This was where Double-D had died. A horrid feeling of sadness and nausea overtook me as I continued to stare at the crimson markings near the beam. I'd never really liked Edd much; he was so smart and I knew Sarah had feelings for him. He was no stronger then I am yet he could get himself out of nearly any situation by using his smarts to his advantage. But as I saw the site where the beam apparently crashed down on his small frame and sprayed blood all over the area, I couldn't help but feel a lump well up in my throat.  
I silently mourned for him before I continued my search. I had gained enough courage to go upstairs, although walking took extremely long. Learning from my past mistake on the roof, I put extreme caution into every step. I slowly made my way up another flight of cracked and tarnished stairs, putting one foot on the next stair and very slowly applying pressure until my other foot was off the ground. I opened the door gently and looked inside. Aside from half of it being gone, Sarah's room looked the same as when I'd last seen it. I scoped the place, looking for any sign of her. But there was no sign of recent life anywhere. I became frantic; I looked in her closet, under her bed, in her toy chest--  
"Wait a minute!" I shouted to nothing, my excitement rising up again. I quickly (as fast as I could walk on my toes anyway) ran to a poster of a unicorn on the wall. Ripping it off with no thought of the consequences, I peered in the inlet behind it and smiled. I carefully grabbed its handle and slid the metal box out of its secret and sacred hiding spot. It was Sarah's special chest, full of things she cherished and guarded with her life. And possibly a clue to where she might be. I tried to open it but I noticed the padlock keeping the mini fortress shut and secure. Crestfallen, I turned around and began my way back down the steps with the treasure in my hands. After safely emerging from the hazardous booby-trap waiting to trigger, I sat down on the ground and realized how tired I was. With the metal box in hand, I shifted myself towards a small patch of grass that survived the catastrophe and lied down. The last thing I saw was a few out-of-focus figures coming toward me. I was too tired to care.


	7. The Basement

"Hey Jimmy, it's me again. I really miss you."  
"I miss you too, Sarah. But I'll find you."  
"Jimmy?"  
"Yes Sarah?"  
"Please wake up."  
"Huh? What do you-"  
I felt darkness rush over me as Sarah's image faded away. The bonds of reality once again wrapped around me and the pain greeted me once more as I slowly woke up. I found myself back in the hospital, and to my dismay Sarah's box was gone. I shot out of bed and scanned the room frantically for it. Relief washed over me as I found the box on the floor next to my bed, still locked tight. I picked it up with care. I wanted to find out what was in it so bad, but I dared not shake it. What if whatever inside was fragile? Sarah would never forgive me if I broke something important enough to her to keep in this reinforced haven sitting in my hands. I set it on my bed gently and stumbled towards the door of my room.  
"I'll open it after some breakfast" I told myself as I opened the door. As I walked out, a nurse saw me walking down the hall and quickly went up to me.  
"Oh, Jimmy, I'm glad you're awake." she said.  
"What is it?"  
"Doctor Patterson said to get you as soon as you woke up." the nurse replied. I gave her a confused look but chose to follow her as she ushered me down the hall. She opened up a door and asked me to go inside. I went in only to find that it was completely empty, save for a lonely chair in the middle of the white-washed room. I hesitantly took a seat, not knowing what to do.  
"Hello, Jimmy." I heard a voice say. I turned around to see a man walk into the room in front of me.  
"Hello, Doctor Patterson?"  
"Yes, that's me." he replied. "Jimmy, you're checked into the hospital and must remain here until further notice."  
"Oh," I said, remembering how I went to the cul-de-sac. "Sorry."  
"Just make sure it doesn't happen again. Now, I'm going to ask you a few questions."  
"Questions? Why?"  
"Just answer them please." the doctor replied. His voice started to sound a little stern, and it worried me. I don't remember all of the questions he asked, but I do know they were very strange. He gave a lot of riddles and trick questions that I didn't know the answer to and all the while he wouldn't tell me what they were for.  
"So you say you can 'talk' with Sarah in your dreams?" He asked.  
"Yes, I can hear her voice and we talk to each other when I'm asleep."  
"I see......I'll be right back." the man said as he exited the room. I waited patiently in my little chair in the middle of the room. I was confused, but I knew it was good to listen to adults. After a few minutes, however, I started to get a little impatient. I opened the door and took a peek into the hallway. I waited there for another few minutes, looking for any sign of the man who interrogated me with riddles and trick questions. I soon saw him walking down the hall with a few other people in different uniforms than the standard doctor's outfit. I was about to shut the door and sit back down when something caught my eye; in one of the men's hands was a jacket. A straight jacket.  
My eyes widened and my mind started to race.  
Was that jacket for me? Am I crazy? Did this have to do with Sarah?  
All of these questions formed in my mind as the men became more and more ominous the closer they got to the room. On an impulse, I flung the door open and ran. The doctor and his partners saw this and started to run after me. My head throbbed from the quickening of my heart rate and rush of adrenaline that was coursing through my head and the only thing I could think about was Sarah's box. I rushed in my room and snatched the treasure off of my bed just as one of the men came in carrying a syringe filled with a strange yellow liquid. Not wanting to find out what it did, I scurried between the man's legs and ran out of the room, much to the surprise of the men waiting outside. Dodging their hands and attempts at poisoning me with needles, I ran down the hallway faster then I'd ever ran before. I noticed Kevin coming out of an elevator door and quickly took the opportunity to get in. Pressing the first button I saw, the door closed just as the men pushed a surprised Kevin out of the way and turned towards me. I felt the machine jerk a little and I felt myself becoming slightly lighter, meaning I was heading downwards. Having regained my breath, I noticed the button I pressed was for the hospital basement. I didn't want to go to the basement, but it was better than being put in a straight jacket I supposed.  
A wave a fear washed over me as the doors opened to a dark, dusty room barely illuminated by a few flickering lights. It was very cold and I could almost see my breath. I saw two light switches, one on and the other off. I turned the second one on and, to my slight relief, another set of lights flickered to life. As I looked around, I noticed one wall was completely covered with large, metal drawers. Upon closer inspection, I saw the drawers were labeled with names. Looking over them, I found one that had Double-D's name on it. With my brain still not functioning very well from the chase that took place moments ago, I mindlessly opened the drawer and nearly puked.  
Inside the large metal tomb was Edd. Or what was left of him anyway. His skin was a sickly brown color and parts of it were missing, revealing the dry, rotting muscle underneath. His clothes and hat were still on, fortunately, but his face was disfigured from rot and he stank to high heavens. Despite his grotesque being, I was still more frightened by the people chasing after me.  
"Oh Double-D, what should I do?" I asked quietly as I put my back up to the wall and slid down. I was very tired from the chase and couldn't bring myself to move anymore.  
"Give up."  
I nearly jumped out of my skin as I heard Double-D talk. I quickly shot up and felt my body tingle with fright. The corpse of the boy I had just pulled out was looking at me. His eyes were dull and glazed over, yet they burned into my soul with their gaze. I felt myself vibrate at the gruesome sight of Edd sitting up off of the drawer, not taking his eyes off of me for a second.  
"W-w-wh-what??" I managed to stammer.  
"I said, give up." Double-D's voice was close to normal, only it was lower-pitched and had a sinister tone to it.  
"W-why?" My heart started to rocket around my body as I heard him chuckle to himself.  
"You don't get it, do you? Sarah's dead, yet you're trying to find her?" he wore a smile that, especially when coupled to his decomposing face, sent chills down my spine.  
"Y-yes, b-because she's not d-dead." I said as I clutched the metal box more firmly.  
"Oh, you think she survived falling off of that cliff, the day that you killed her? That is funny, Jimmy. You need to grow up one day. You think that whatever is in that box will revive her, or help you 'find' her as you say? You should know by now that isn't going to happen. There is no magical quest you can go on to save her life, no ancient artifact that will bring her back. She's gone, and there's nothing you can do about it. Just accept it and live, cling on to your life you were willing to kill Sarah over."  
"But....I...." I felt tears forming in my eyes at Edd's harsh words. "I didn't...."  
"Oh, but you did, dear Jimmy. Her fate was in your hands when you held her from being dropped from miles up, but what did you do? You let go and killed her. It's as simple as that."  
I felt the sadness start to boil over into anger inside me.  
"I mean, you loved the girl, didn't you? Bought her a gold ring and everything? Yet you still killed her just to-"  
"I DIDN'T KILL HER!" I screamed at Double-D, who's smug look of sadistic pleasure suddenly turned into a face of anger.  
"Don't you shout at me, Jimmy! I'm not the one who killed-"  
My frustration got the better of me and I tackled Double-D, knocking him off of the metal drawer and onto the cold stone floor. Ignoring the stench of rotting flesh, I fought with him and we wrestled to pin the other down. Double-D then shot a hand at my throat and started squeezing. I felt the breath leave my lungs and I was no longer able to breath. With much more strength then I'd ever seen in Double-D, he stood up and held me above him by the neck, squeezing the life out of me. I found that struggling didn't loosen his grip at all, and I felt my vision turning black. As a last desperate act, I grabbed his hat and ripped it off of his head. To my surprise, Edd started to scream as he dropped me and placed his hands on his head. I covered my ears from his horrid shriek and watched as the boy slowly started to crumble from top to bottom. In a matter of seconds Edd turned into a pile of dust on the floor, unmoving and bearing no trace of its former shape. I let out a sigh of relief as I backed away from the wall of drawers, not wanting to get in another fight like that one. I looked around the room some more and found a tool cabinet with a large set of thick pliers. I heard faint noises coming from the stairs and knew I had to act quickly. I managed to cut through the padlock on Sarah's box and I opened it up.


	8. Running

_Empty._  
Tears welled up in my eyes as I gazed in disbelief. I looked down at the box in my lap and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Sarah's box, the container that she kept everything cherished to her in, was _empty_. My eyes couldn't hold any more tears and they streamed down my face, landing in the box. I can't find words to describe how I felt. I didn't want to believe what Double-D said, but the proof was sitting in front of me slowly filling up with tears. My attention slowly turned to the nearby stairs where I could hear footsteps and stern voices growing louder and louder with each passing second. Out of reflex I dashed to the elevator, leaving Sarah's box behind. I pressed the button for ground floor and watched the doors close. As the elevator reached its destination I could hear more running footsteps and voices coming from the stairs next to me. Without a second thought I ran. I ran down to the lobby, out the door, and away from the hospital. I felt like I was in a daze; I could still see and hear but nothing ever really registered in my head. All I could think about was running. I ran past the ruins of the cul-de-sac and towards Lemon Brook. I felt my stomach churn as I started to run out of adrenaline and collapsed on the ground. I started to feel dizzy and I couldn't reorient myself enough to get back up. From there I crawled.  
I crawled along the ground littered with giant sunflowers and I realized I'd been there before. I remembered how the Kanker Sisters tried to use us as slaves to find the Eds when they'd gone missing. And when Sarah used all her bravery and might to free me from their grasp, we ran to the sunflower patch to hide.  
Sarah. The thought of her glowed in my mind and I found the strength to get back up again. I heard the footsteps and noises behind me and for the first time since I opened the box I had a plan of escape. With Sarah's memory still keeping me going, I climbed up one of the seven-foot tall sunflowers and quickly squirrelled myself on top of it. The plant bended down slightly from my weight but it was enough to keep me from being spotted by the men below. I watched as they scouted the area, searching for the crazy boy who thinks that he can talk with a dead girl in his sleep. As I looked, my eyes widened as I saw something strange about one of the men.  
He had no face.  
I couldn't help but let out a small gasp that alerted the men to my hiding place. As they turned to look at me, I saw they all didn't have faces. I forced my breakfast back down and quickly jumped from my sunflower to another one. Fortunately, the springy nature of the flowers helped me jump far and fast as I hopscotched my way out of the field.  
Unfortunately, some of my pursuers caught on and got to the top of the canopy of pedals to catch up to me. I found the edge of the sea of flowers and hopped off. I hit the grassy field below hard; maybe a little too hard, because I saw the ground cracking from under me. I quickly ran but I looked back and watched in horror as the ground crumbled and feel down a bottomless chasm, taking all of the men without faces with it. The chase was not over, however, because the chasm started to widen as more earth and foliage fell into the endless abyss. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me over the field an into a nearby woods. I dodged trees and shrubs and stumbled deeper into the labyrinth of wood, running from the hungry trench behind me. I slowed down when I heard the rumbling of the pit die off and I eventually came to rest at a large oak tree.  
While I was catching my breath, I felt my consciousness slowly fade away from exhaustion. Soon I found myself hovering in blackness with nothing around me. I knew it was a dream, but it felt strange. The darkness was cold, colder than I ever felt before. But something came from behind me. I turned around in midair to see a bright, glorious light in the near distance. It radiated warmth that brushed off the cold of darkness as it beckoned me towards it. I felt myself drawing closer to that magnificent, wonderful light. But as I neared it I heard something. Or, I thought I heard something anyway. It sounded like a sort of ring, steady and quiet, but still there. Along with that ring I heard voices. I could barely hear them, much less make out what they were saying or who the voices belonged to, but they sounded strange. They sounded worried, almost. Quiet and infinitesimal the ringing and voices seemed, they caused me to panic and I quickly flew away from the light. As the glorious warmth drew father away from me, so did the sounds.  
_"Jimmy....Please wake up, Jimmy......"_  
"Sarah?"  
I felt reality come back to bind me and take me away from my dreams once more as I woke up. I thought I'd heard Sarah just then, but I woke up before I could see her. I rubbed my eyes to clear my vision up and looked around. I had no idea how long I'd been sleeping, but the rumbling of the chasm was still gone and the sun still hung in the middle of the sky. I was about to get up when I noticed something. There was a deer some ways in the distance, but that wasn't what caught my attention. Next to the deer was a crack. The split in the ground weaved around trees and shrubs and I couldn't tell where it started, but the end of it crept up to the deer slowly as if it was stalking the animal as prey. The slowly moving crack in the ground suddenly darted beneath the deer and opened wide, causing the animal to fall down into the blackness of the newly-formed chasm. Horror swept across my face as the crack thinned back out and started slithering along the ground again, looking for another victim. Wasting no time, I quickly ran as far as I could. The crack "saw" me and gave chase, zig-zagging back and forth and winding around trees and plants like a serpent as it chased me through the forest. The area around me started to grow more abstract as I dodged flailing tree branches and hurdled over roots and low bushes. The horrible sound of earth ripping in two stabbed my ears as my pursuer chased me with determination. I turned around to see the crack gaining on me and I was about to pick up the pace when my face flattened up against the wall of a large cliff. The new addition to the ever-present pain was soon forgotten as I felt myself get swallowed up by the chasm of darkness.


	9. Strange Place

I can't remember exactly how long I fell for when I was swallowed up by the earth. I think it might've been a minute or two, which is quite long for a drop. But when I hit the ground, despite how painful it was, I survived somehow. When I woke up I thought something was wrong with my eyes. I found myself in the exact spot I was before I fell, but everything was....reversed! It's kinda hard to describe, but everything just seemed opposite of what it was supposed to be. The shadow of the cliff wall I was up against was filled with light while the area surrounding it was dark. I felt strangely warm in the patch of light coming from nowhere which suddenly faded as I stepped out. Above me was a black sun that emanated a cool darkness that fell upon my face as I looked up. I found that everywhere around me was in reverse; the shadows cast by trees were bright and warm while everything caught in the sunlight was dark and cool like shade. Gravity itself felt a bit strange as I stumbled around. I was still attached to the earth below me but I felt as if some force wanted me to go up; as if I was a needle hanging from a weak magnet. Nauseating as it was, I knew I had to keep going. Going where, I did not know but if I was in the same place the faceless men went to then I wanted to make sure they didn't find me again. I reached into my pocket and pulled out Sarah's Doll. It was a small toy, no bigger than the palm of my hand so I carried it wherever I went. It reminded me of Sarah and I let a quick tear fall from my face before I put it back into the safety of my pants pockets. I stumbled around the forest for a while, coming across a few broken trees here and there that told me I was still in the Peach Creek area, and keeping a watchful eye out for my pursuers.  
Despite the strangeness of it all, the warped world around me was really quite beautiful. The trunks of the trees gave off a soft orange glow and the downward side of the leaves were lit up like Christmas lights. The clouds were illuminated in contrast to the dark sky. The sun was black and cool but not cold, the shadows of light were warm but not hot and the surreality of everything was strange but comfortable.  
I came across a clearing and found a river bisecting it. It let off a slight glow from the underneath as the darkness flickered off of the small and fast waves of the rushing water. I decided to rest there for a moment and I took a sip of the lukewarm water. Though it wasn't exactly refreshing, it calmed me down to the point where I could let my fears go enough to get some sleep. Once again, I found myself floating in a horribly cold blackness and the magnificent light was there to taunt me with its wonderful glow. I wanted to touch it, to feel its warmth and wonderful feeling it was only giving me a taste of from a distance but something held me back. Whenever I got close that quite ringing would sound again and fear would take over me, forcing me to back away. I let tears drip down my face as I looked at the glorious entity.  
Eventually, I felt the cold and darkness wash away as the image of the light faded and I woke up back in the surreal, topsy-turvy world I was in. Light poured on my body and I had to shut my eyes for a few minutes to get them adjusted to the sudden brightness. When my eyes would let me open them, I found the entire area around me flooded with light. The black sun in the sky was nowhere to be seen; instead it was replaced by a slightly brighter moon which dimmed out the white, blinding glow coming from the entire sky somewhat. The hair on the back of my neck suddenly shot up as I heard footsteps and voices all around me. As I started to get up, a sharp pain struck my leg and I fell back onto the ground. The faceless men were surrounding me now and I knew it was over. Another sharp pain entered my leg as one of the men pulled out the syringe and I felt myself slowly losing consciousness once more.  
Instead of the freezing darkness and beckoning light that made up my past few dreams, this one was much worse. Instead of floating, I felt myself pressed upon a hard, stony earth and I felt like I was getting crushed with my own weight. The sky was blood red and clouds were moving swiftly and violently across it. The dream was very much like that hallucination attack I had a few eternities back; there were dark entities swirling around me and making my headache grow and stomp on me as my ears filled past the point of tearing with horrible sounds and voices. My head started expanding, no longer able to contain the horrible migraine that was throbbing and pulsating within it. The dark predators started swirling faster and faster as the voices pierced through my soul. I tried to scream but all that came out of my mouth was blood and vomit. Before I had lost but all ability to think, I reached in my pocket and pulled out Sarah's Doll. Almost immediately I felt my head shrink down to its normal size and I saw the horrible shapes slow down around me. I clutched the doll to my chest and felt myself getting lighter. Everything seemed to freeze where it was in time as I slowly got to my feet, the doll securely in my hands. I watched as a little square appeared out of nowhere, rising and rotating upward taking a piece of the red sky with it. Suddenly, many more squares and shapes appeared as the space around me started to collapse and break apart, leaving behind a bright light. It wasn't the same light I couldn't touch, but it made me feel better as I started falling down.

I woke up groggily that morning. It was a wonderful day out; the sun was shining a bright, warm glow, there were big poofy clouds dotted across the sky that looked like they could start raining cotton candy any second, and everyone was outside playing on the cul-de-sac, including Sarah. As I saw her I jumped out of bed, forgetting my previous grogginess, and got dressed as fast as I could. There was no need to eat breakfast, for Sarah and I were going to have a lovely brunch with Mister Yum-Yum and all his friends. I opened my front door but quickly stopped before I stepped out. I waited for a second, expecting Eddy to come whizzing in front of my face, but instead I saw him across the street going inside Ed's house.  
"I guess it was just a nightmare," I said as I walked outside towards Sarah, who waiting in the cul-de-sac for me.  
"and now it's finally over."


	10. Ending

Heheh, I bet I left you all hanging there, didn't I? Well, my story doesn't quite end there. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw Sarah in the middle of the cul-de-sac waiting for me. It seemed like forever since I saw her smiling. My heart raced and I ran up and hugged her right in the middle of the street.  
"Oh Sarah, I had the most horrible nightmare!" I said as tears fell down my face. Sarah, albeit a little confused, returned the hug and embraced me.  
"It's okay Jimmy, I'm right here." she said, her voice soft and sweet. A minute or two passed by before we actually let go of each other, but it was still wonderful. When I looked at her face again, a sudden look of horror came over my own. There was a _crack_, going right through Sarah's face as if she was made of stone. I blinked a couple of times to make sure it wasn't my imagination, but it soon started to spread across her body like some sort of curse. As if a bullet was shot into the back of my head, the pain suddenly sprang back to life in my body as strong as it was since the earthquake happened.  
"What?" was all Sarah said as her body started to slowly crumble into dust. A strong wind came and carried the particles of Sarah away as more and more of her decomposed. I screamed loudly as I watched my love disappear before my eyes and soon there was nothing left of her.  
_"You killed my little sister."_  
I turned around to see all the kids of the cul-de-sac surrounding me. They wore faces of hatred and fury and their eyes had no pupils. They started to close in on me, chanting _"You killed her! You killed her!"_ louder and louder. On top of one of the houses I could see Double-D looking at me. Even from a distance I could tell his body was rotting and dead just like in the hospital basement and he was grinning, as if to say "I told you so."  
As the kids slowly got closer I heard cars coming down the road. Large black vans started entering the cul-de-sac and the faceless men started coming out of them. As Rolf started to grab for me I quickly ducked and squirmed under his legs. I ran as fast as I could away from the cul-de-sac. I looked behind my shoulder to see everyone chasing after me with bloodlust in their soulless eyes. As I entered the forest, I felt a familiarly horrible rumbling under my feet. The earth started to shake more and more violently as I ran from my friends and strangers. I felt my old wounds start to reemerge from the depths of my skin and open back up, letting blood flow freely out of them and onto the ground. Another pursuer joined the Great-Jimmy-Chase, much to my dismay. It was the light from my dreams, beckoning and magnificent but this time it was moving toward me.  
_"No, you can't!"_  
I thought I heard Sarah saying that, but I was too busy running to take notice. My legs felt like they were on fire as I ran up the large hill leading to Sarah's and my Secret Place. The voices and dark shapes decided to join the fray as well and I felt my headache swell back up. As I reached the edge of the cliff on top of the world, my legs gave out and I stumbled onto the grass.  
_"No! You can't do this!"_  
I watched everything start to catch up to me as I lay helpless on the ground.  
_"Please!"_  
I started to crawl towards the edge of the cliff. I looked over it and saw nothing but darkness below. The voices of my friends grew louder and I felt the wonderfully horrible feeling of the light wash over me as everyone grew closer and closer. The infinitesimal ringing came back as I heard Sarah's voice one last time.  
_"Jimmy!!"_  
I don't remember whether I chose it or if it was out of reflex, but at the last moment I flung myself over the cliffside and fell. I felt the light and noises fade away as I started my eternal descent in the darkness. I don't exactly remember much of the fall; I do know that it was _long_, longer than you can possibly imagine. I fell and fell in the dark, silent chasm for what seemed like an eternity.

_"Jimmy, I don't know if you can hear me, but I.....I love you."_  
"What was that?" I thought as I heard Sarah's voice. I'd forgotten what hearing was, and suddenly hearing someone talk to me was a bit of a surprise. Right afterward, I felt something on my face. I'd forgotten what feeling was too, and it certainly gave me sort of jump. My cheeks felt slightly different than normal. They were wet with something. And my lips felt different also. They were pressed up against something soft. Something wonderfully soft and warm. I opened my eyes slowly, wondering if I was dead or not. Or worse, if that was possible. But as my vision cleared up my eyes widened at what was in front of my face, frozen in time. It was Sarah, bent over me and kissing me on the lips. Her face was radiant and clear and her eyes were closed. Tears were pouring from them, stopped in time like everything else. Some were already on my face while others were suspended in midair. As my brain finally realized what was going on, time started to move again and Sarah gently broke from the kiss and got up. I looked over the side of my hospital bed and saw that my heart rate monitor was giving off a constant ring and the line on it was straight and flat. My vision started to fade away, and I looked back over at Sarah. My eyes widened as I saw her leaving the room, crying, and I suddenly shot up.  
"Sarah!!" I shouted, startling her and the two doctors near me. My heart rate monitor suddenly broke from its constant tone and started to beep at a fast rate. She turned around and looked at me as if she hadn't seen me in years. Her eyes started to tear up more and she ran over and hugged me. I nearly cringed as she hugged me tightly, but I suddenly realized that my pain was gone! I squeezed her back, not caring that the doctors were "awww"-ing at us.  
"You are quite a remarkable young boy, you know that?" one of the doctors said. "Lad, you were in a horrible coma for three days. Your vital signs kept wavering and you were on the verge of death almost the whole time. It's hospital regulation to put patients to sleep if they're too close to dying in a coma, which you were almost constantly. We had just pulled the plug on your life support system when your friend here gave you a kiss, and you came back at the last second!"  
"Three days?" I asked. It felt like months for me. Months of horror and strange events. "When did I go into a coma?"  
"When that earthquake came and you hit your head on that ledge, you were out cold until just now." Sarah explained.  
I was afraid that this was going to be another dream or hallucination, but I felt a sense of reality that told me this was the real deal.  
"This little girl never left your side for a moment. She even gave you what she said was her favorite toy."  
I looked down to find Sarah's doll on my lap, smiling sweetly at us. Just as I thought I was done crying for a while, tears once again flooded my eyes and hugged Sarah again.

The next day I was able to get out of the hospital. It turned out that the earthquake wasn't as bad as it was in my comatose; a lot of the houses in the cul-de-sac were still standing and the damage didn't reach the building where our parents worked. As we walked back to my house, the other kids stopped what they were doing and looked at me as if they'd seen a ghost. I looked at them and smiled, and they all smiled back. Whatever injuries they might've gotten during the quake were all gone by now and Johnny even had both arms (thank god). Ed saw Sarah and me for the first time in days and gave us a bone-crushing yet sweet hug. Sarah punched him in the gut, albeit friendly rather than violently, and he backed off.  
"Greetings, Jimmy! I'm glad to see that--" Double-D was cut off by me suddenly screaming. He backed away for a moment and I quickly remembered that his "evil" self was just a dream.  
"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to scream at you." I said. Edd accepted the apology and walked off to Ed and Eddy. Sarah gave me an embracing hug, and I kissed her. I looked up at the mountain looking over us. Part of it was gone, but it was mostly still there. Despite my ordeal, I silently thanked it as me and Sarah walked on. Holding hands, we walked into my house, ignoring the golden ring on my lawn glinting in the sunlight.

**The End**


End file.
